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Blue Jays sweep Yankees but lose Tulowitzki

The Jays' Troy Tulowitzki, left, hits the deck after colliding with Kevin Pillar in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Yankees. Tulowitzki suffered a cracked shoulder blade. (Kathy Willens / The Associated Press)

NEW YORK—Troy Tulowitzki looked stunned. Almost like in a Three Stooges gag, his body stiffened before he fell like a levelled tree one awkward beat after Kevin Pillar inadvertently crashed into his back in the second inning of Saturday’s front half of a doubleheader. The pair had converged on a pop fly to shallow centre field.

“It was kind of hitting that area where we’re both comfortable catching the ball,” Pillar said. “I guess he waved me off with his hand; I was calling it. We never saw each other.”

The Blue Jays’ shortstop made the catch but then crumpled in a heap and lay hardly moving for an uncomfortable few seconds. Eventually Tulowitzki rose and walked off the field on his own power.

But he immediately left the game and by Saturday night we learned he won’t be back for a while. Tulowitzki suffered a “small crack” — to use the team’s language — in his left shoulder blade, or scapula, as well as bruises to his upper-back muscles. How long the injury will keep him out of the lineup is unclear. The Jays say he will undergo further tests to determine the injury’s severity.

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But it doesn’t sound good, and the news put a definite damper on what was an otherwise dominant day for the first-place Jays, who now old a healthy 4.5-game lead over the Yankees after sweeping their closest rivals in Saturday’s double dip, ensuring a series win in this pivotal four-game set.

“I couldn’t feel any worse about it,” Pillar said. “It’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever experienced on the field. I’ve been injured myself, but to injure someone else is a nightmare you never want to have happen on the field, especially a guy like him who’s just so important to this team and on a play where it could have easily been avoided.”

Acquired from the Colorado Rockies a few days before the trade deadline, Tulowitzki hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball since arriving in Toronto. But he has been a significant defensive upgrade on Jose Reyes, stabilizing the left side of the team’s infield, while also adding another elite power hitter to the Jays’ already deep lineup.

Since his first game with the Jays on July 29, the team has won 32 of 41 games.

“Tough news, tough news,” said manager John Gibbons. “You look at what the guy has done for us. Since he stepped on that field every day our record is what it is . . . that’s tough.”

In Tulowitzki’s absence Ryan Goins will take over shortstop duties, and the defensive wizard may in fact be a further upgrade at the position. Replacing Tulowitzki’s bat will likely be Cliff Pennington, the veteran utility infielder acquired in a small-beans waiver trade with the Diamondbacks last month.

Pennington ended up serving a key role in Saturday’s action. Playing second, with Goins moving to shortstop, he made a hair-raising sliding snag to preserve a one-run lead for the Jays in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game he hit his first home run as a Blue Jay, cranking a two-run shot to right field as part of an early six-run rally the Jays laid on Yankees starter Ivan Nova, driving him from the game before he could even make it through the second.

Aside from Tulowitzki’s injury, it was another bully day for the Jays, whose relentless offence continues to punish opposing pitchers while pounding its way to the post-season. After scoring 11 runs on Friday night, they added 19 more in Saturday’s two-fer, laying to waste a beleaguered and demoralized Yankee pitching staff.

“Huge day,” Gibbons said. “I’m proud of these guys. It wasn’t an easy day to play . . . and they gutted it out.”

But afterward Tulowitzki’s teammates were already talking in bereaved terms.

“I’m sure he’s got in his head that he’s going to do everything in his power to make it back, but we’ll see, we’ll see what happens,” said Marcus Stroman, who made his hotly anticipated season debut on Saturday.

“Tulo’s the man, so I know that even if he’s not back he’ll be with us there in spirit. He’ll be cheering us on. He’s a team guy so we’re upset for his loss right now but I’m sure we’ll do everything in our power to pick up the pieces and move on.”

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The Blue Jays’ shortstop made the catch but then crumpled in a heap and lay hardly moving for an uncomfortable few seconds. Eventually Tulowitzki rose and walked off the field on his own power.

But he immediately left the game and by Saturday night we learned he won’t be back for a while. Tulowitzki suffered a “small crack” — to use the team’s language — in his left shoulder blade, or scapula, as well as bruises to his upper-back muscles. How long the injury will keep him out of the lineup is unclear. The Jays say he will undergo further tests to determine the injury’s severity.

But it doesn’t sound good, and the news put a definite damper on what was an otherwise dominant day for the first-place Jays, who now old a healthy 4.5-game lead over the Yankees after sweeping their closest rivals in Saturday’s double dip, ensuring a series win in this pivotal four-game set.

“I couldn’t feel any worse about it,” Pillar said. “It’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever experienced on the field. I’ve been injured myself, but to injure someone else is a nightmare you never want to have happen on the field, especially a guy like him who’s just so important to this team and on a play where it could have easily been avoided.”

Acquired from the Colorado Rockies a few days before the trade deadline, Tulowitzki hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball since arriving in Toronto. But he has been a significant defensive upgrade on Jose Reyes, stabilizing the left side of the team’s infield, while also adding another elite power hitter to the Jays’ already deep lineup.

Since his first game with the Jays on July 29, the team has won 32 of 41 games.

“Tough news, tough news,” said manager John Gibbons. “You look at what the guy has done for us. Since he stepped on that field every day our record is what it is . . . that’s tough.”

In Tulowitzki’s absence Ryan Goins will take over shortstop duties, and the defensive wizard may in fact be a further upgrade at the position. Replacing Tulowitzki’s bat will likely be Cliff Pennington, the veteran utility infielder acquired in a small-beans waiver trade with the Diamondbacks last month.

Pennington ended up serving a key role in Saturday’s action. Playing second, with Goins moving to shortstop, he made a hair-raising sliding snag to preserve a one-run lead for the Jays in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game he hit his first home run as a Blue Jay, cranking a two-run shot to right field as part of an early six-run rally the Jays laid on Yankees starter Ivan Nova, driving him from the game before he could even make it through the second.

Aside from Tulowitzki’s injury, it was another bully day for the Jays, whose relentless offence continues to punish opposing pitchers while pounding its way to the post-season. After scoring 11 runs on Friday night, they added 19 more in Saturday’s two-fer, laying to waste a beleaguered and demoralized Yankee pitching staff.

“Huge day,” Gibbons said. “I’m proud of these guys. It wasn’t an easy day to play . . . and they gutted it out.”

But afterward Tulowitzki’s teammates were already talking in bereaved terms.

“I’m sure he’s got in his head that he’s going to do everything in his power to make it back, but we’ll see, we’ll see what happens,” said Marcus Stroman, who made his hotly anticipated season debut on Saturday.

“Tulo’s the man, so I know that even if he’s not back he’ll be with us there in spirit. He’ll be cheering us on. He’s a team guy so we’re upset for his loss right now but I’m sure we’ll do everything in our power to pick up the pieces and move on.”

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